Method of settlement using mobile communication terminal

ABSTRACT

There is proposed a settlement method that facilitates use of credit cards, debit cards, and various kinds of electronic money by using a familiar device. A settlement method by various payment means using a subscriber terminal device of a mobile communication system that can be connected to the Internet includes a process for originating a call from the subscriber terminal device, conducting communication with a database, and authenticating a payee; a process for displaying views on a screen of the subscriber terminal device in accordance with contents registered in the database, accepting at least a payment due and a payer name entered on the subscriber terminal device, and ascertaining whether there is illegality in the entered contents; a process responsive to no illegality in the entered contents for accepting a settlement number and a term of validity of the various payment means entered on the subscriber terminal device, acquiring an upper limit of use from the database on the basis of the entered contents, and determining whether the payment due is within the upper limit of use; a process for displaying at least the payer name, the payment due, the settlement number and the term of validity of various payment means on the subscriber terminal device if the payment due is within the upper limit of use, and transmitting settlement information from the subscriber terminal device to a settlement site in accordance with a payment operation corresponding to the display; a process for conducting communication from the settlement site, which has received the settlement information, to an administrative corporation of the various payment means, and requesting authentication; and a process responsive to success of the authentication, for executing settlement fixing processing between the settlement site and the subscriber terminal device and displaying settlement completion on the subscriber terminal device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a settling method using a credit card,a debit card, or one of various kinds of electronic money utilized by amobile communication system represented by portable telephones.

Credit cards and debit cards have now filtered into consumers widely. Inconvenience stores, payment using a card has become possible. As itssettlement method, a method of inserting a credit card into a cardreader dedicated to settlement and installed in a store is typical. Asfor debit cards as well, a method of inserting a card into a card readerdedicated to settlement is adopted in the same way as the settlement ofthe credit cards. In a store having no card readers, debit cards cannotbe used at all under the existing conditions.

Even if a person has a credit card, a debit card, or one of variouskinds of electronic money, it cannot be used provided that a terminalfor settlement is not installed in the store. For example, a creditcard, a debit card, or various kinds of electronic money cannot be usedeasily as payment means in ordering pizza delivery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a settlement method by variouspayment means using a subscriber terminal device of a mobilecommunication system that can be connected to the Internet, and thesettlement method comprising of a process for originating a call fromthe subscriber terminal device, conducting communication with adatabase, and authenticating a payee; a process for displaying views ona screen of the subscriber terminal device in accordance with contentsregistered in the database, accepting at least a payment due and a payername entered on the subscriber terminal device, and ascertaining whetherthere is illegality in the entered contents; a process responsive to noillegality in the entered contents for accepting a settlement number anda term of validity of the various payment means entered on thesubscriber terminal device, acquiring an upper limit of use from thedatabase on the basis of the entered contents, and determining whetherthe payment due is within the upper limit of use; a process fordisplaying at least the payer name, the payment due, the settlementnumber and the term of validity of various payment means on thesubscriber terminal device if the payment due is within the upper limitof use, and transmitting settlement information from the subscriberterminal device to a settlement site in accordance with a paymentoperation corresponding to the display; a process for conductingcommunication from the settlement site, which has received thesettlement information, to an administrative corporation of the variouspayment means, and requesting authentication; and a process responsiveto success of the authentication, for executing settlement fixingprocessing between the settlement site and the subscriber terminaldevice and displaying settlement completion on the subscriber terminaldevice.

In this settlement method, the side of payee, for example, each ofemployees of a delivery pizza store or a taxi corporation owns a user IDand a password, then, authenticating the payee by using a subscriberterminal device of a payer or a payee side, which enables settlement byvarious payment means at a destination of delivery pizza or in anautomobile. As the various payment means, debit cards and various kindsof electronic money such as prepaid electronic money can also be usedbesides credit cards.

There is also proposed a settlement method by various payment meansusing an adapter connected to an expansion terminal in a subscriberterminal device of a mobile communication system that can be connectedto the Internet Includes: a process for originating a call from thesubscriber terminal device by connecting the adapter, conductingcommunication with a database, displaying views on a screen of thesubscriber terminal device with adapter in accordance with contentsunique to the adapter registered in the database, accepting at least apayment due and a payer name entered on the subscriber terminal devicewith adapter, and ascertaining whether there is illegality in theentered contents; a process responsive to no illegality in the enteredcontents for accepting a settlement number and a term of validity of thevarious payment means entered on the subscriber terminal device withadapter, acquiring an upper limit of use from the database on the basisof the entered contents, and determining whether the payment due iswithin the upper limit of use; a process for displaying at least thepayer name, the payment due, the settlement number and the term ofvalidity of the various payment means on the subscriber terminal devicewith adapter if the payment due is within the upper limit of use, andtransmitting settlement information from the subscriber terminal devicewith adapter to a settlement site in accordance with a payment operationcorresponding to the display; a process for conducting communicationfrom the settlement site, which has received the settlement information,to an administrative corporation of the various payment means, andrequesting authentication; and a process responsive to success of theauthentication, for executing settlement fixing processing between thesettlement site and the subscriber terminal device with adapter anddisplaying settlement completion on the subscriber terminal device withadapter.

The adapter in this method incorporates a microcomputer, and it can bemade small in size. Therefore, the payee side, for example, each ofemployees of a delivery pizza store or a taxi corporation can put theadapter in a pocket and carry it easily. By using a subscriber terminaldevice of a payer or a payee side, settlement using various paymentmeans can be completed at a destination place of pizza delivery or in anautomobile, so long as there is an adapter.

In such a settlement method using the various payment means, contactinformation of the payer is also entered for ascertainment when enteringa payment due and a payer name on the subscriber terminal device withadapter. It is preferred to have formalities to determine whether thereis illegality (such as use of a symbol that cannot be entered, or toomany number of digit) in it's entering as well. As such contactinformation, E-mail address or a telephone number (fixed telephone orportable telephone) can be used. If the contact information isascertained, an administrative corporation of the various payment meanscan make contact for personal verification at later time. In addition,if the contact information is a telephone number, then it is alsopossible to ascertain whether the provided phone number actually existsby inquiring a database when ascertaining illegality.

In the process for determining whether the payment due is within theupper limit of use in the settlement method of the present invention, itis possible to acquire an upper limit of payee provided for the payee(in the case of chained stores, it is desirable to provide an upperlimit for each store), an upper limit of number provided for thesettlement number of the various payment means, and an upper limit ofemployee provided for each of employees belonging to the store or anupper limit of adapter provided for an adapter are acquired from thedatabase, and determine whether the payment due does not exceed theacquired upper limits. Each of these upper limits may be an upper limitper use of each time. More preferably, however, amounts of settlementmoney that have succeeded in totalizing periods determined respectivelyfor the upper limits are inquired of the database and totalizedrespectively for the upper limits, and it is determined whether sumtotals of these totalized amounts of money of settlements and thepayment due do not exceed the corresponding upper limits. The totalizingperiod of the upper limits can be determined to be one month for theupper limit of the payee and the upper limit of the number, and to beone day for the upper limit of the employee or the upper limit of theadapter. In this case, the amount of settlements that have succeeded aretotalized between the first day of that month and that day for the upperlimit of the payee and the upper limit of the number, and the amount ofsettlements that have succeeded are totalized until the current point intime on that day for the upper limit of the employee or the upper limitof the adapter. If the totalizing periods are thus determined, it iseffective in preventing a crime such as a fraud. In other words, if anupper limit is set for each time, settlement can be executed again andagain so long as the upper limit is met each time. In order to preventthis, therefore, it is desirable to determine the upper limit per monthor per day.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a processing process executed in asubscriber terminal device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart following the flow chart shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a view displayed on a subscriber terminaldevice when entering a payment due and a credit card owner name;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a view displayed on a subscriber terminaldevice when entering a credit card number and a term of validity;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a view displayed on a subscriber terminaldevice when ascertaining a payment due and so on and executing a paymentoperation, and an error view displayed on a settlement site when anupper limit of use in the amount of money is exceeded;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an error view displayed on a settlement sitewhen authentication could not be conducted by a card corporation;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a view displayed on a subscriber terminaldevice when settlement has been completed;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing mail transmitted to a payee after settlementhas been completed;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a processing process executed in asubscriber terminal device with an adapter inserted therein according toa second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart following a flow chart shown in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While exemplifying views displayed on a subscriber terminal device,concrete examples of processing processes in the case where a creditcard is used. FIGS. 1 and 2 show flow charts of processing seen from thesubscriber terminal device side. FIGS. 3 to 7 show views displayed onthe terminal device in the processes.

(First Embodiment)

Hereafter, concrete examples of the processing processes will bedescribed. First, a subscriber terminal device is connected to aspecific URL (Uniform Resource Locator) via the Internet (step 101).Subsequently, a user ID and a password are entered (step 102).Authentication work is conducted on the entered user ID and password ina database (DB). If the user ID is already registered, then a store IDand an employee ID which associates with the user ID are acquired (steps103 and 104). In the user ID, a store ID for managing store informationand an employee ID for managing information of an employee belonging tothe store are associated and registered in a database. As for thepassword, a one-time password may be used instead of registering a fixedpassword beforehand. In this case, the password is made disposable eachtime. Even if a password is stolen, therefore, the same password cannotbe used twice, resulting in enhanced security.

If it is found as a result of the authentication work that there is noregistration of the user ID in the DB, then the processing is finishedat that time (step 105). If there is registration in the DB, then astore name and an image unique to a payee are prepared in accordancewith the store ID acquired from the DB (step 106). Subsequently,explanation of processing contents to be conducted thereafter isdisplayed together with a logo as a top page. And an entering form viewof a payment due and contact information of a payer (credit card owner),such as a telephone number and a credit card owner name (full name) inthe present example, is displayed (step 107). An example of a viewdisplayed on the subscriber terminal device at the step 107 is shown inFIG. 3.

In accordance with the displayed view, the payee first enters a paymentdue, hands the subscribed terminal device to the payer, and makes thepayer enter the telephone number of communication destination and thecredit card owner name by himself or herself. If a return button(displayed as “Next” in FIGS. 3 and 4) in the view is clicked, then itis determined whether there is illegality, such as whether charactershave been entered by using half size alphanumeric characters, whether acharacter that cannot be used has been used, or whether a telephonenumber is unnatural (step 108). If as a result there is illegality inthe entered contents, then an error is displayed (step 109), and theprocessing returns to the step 107 to retry. The error display at thistime is for example, “There is illegality in entering your name. Pleaseenter your name again,” “The telephone number is not right. Please enteryour telephone number again,” and “The payment due is not right. Pleaseenter the payment due again.”

On the other hand, if there are no mistakes in the entered contents,then a unique character string is generated as a shopping ID by a serverunit in the settlement site (i.e., encryption is conducted), and theentered contents are recorded in the DB together with the store ID andthe employee ID (step 110). Subsequently, a URL provided with a programcode, a shopping ID, a payment due, an article name, an additional item,and a flag of only authentication is generated, and a query is sent tothe server of the settlement site to acquire an internal managementnumber (step 111). The “program code” is an agent ID assigned to anagent of pertinent settlement software by the settlement site. The“article name” is an arbitrary character string (such as the agent name)defined in communication specifications for the settlement site. The“additional item” is a character string for internal processingdelivered in order to facilitate finding a problem when the problem hasoccurred.

Upon acquisition of the internal management number, an entering formview of a credit card number and a term of validity is displayedtogether with the payment due entered earlier (step 112). FIG. 4 showsthe entering form displayed at the step 112. In this example, the fullname of the payer and the payment due are displayed in an upper part. Anentering column of a credit card number and an entering column of a termof validity are displayed under the upper part. In case of the presentexample, the term of validity is entered by a selection form.

If the entering operation is completed and a return button (a buttonhaving indication “next”) is clicked, then an upper use limit in thestore=an upper limit of the payee, an upper limit of each employeebelonging to the store=an upper limit of the employee, and an upper uselimit of the card number=an upper limit of the number are acquired fromthe DB (step 113). In case of the present example, the sum total of useper month is determined as an upper limit for the upper limit of thepayee and the upper limit of the number, whereas the total sum of useper day is determined as an upper limit for the upper limit of theemployee. If at this time an upper limit exception that has not beentimed out is set in the DB, then it is given priority. For example, ifthere is a special increase in the upper limit of the payee or the upperlimit of the employee because of campaign (upper limit exception), thenthe upper limit exception is given priority during the campaign period(unless timeout has occurred).

Respective upper limits are thus acquired. As for the upper limit of thepayee for the store and the upper limit of the number for the creditcard number, amounts of money of settlements that have succeeded (thathave been set in a settlement completion flag) since the first day ofthe month until that day are inquired of the DB and totalized. As forthe upper limit of the employee for an employee belonging to the store,amounts of money of settlements that have succeeded until the currentpoint in time of that day are inquired of the DB and totalized. Thepayment due is added to respective total amounts of settlements tocalculate respective total amounts (step 114).

Subsequently, comparison is executed for each of upper limits todetermine whether the respective calculated total amounts exceed theupper limit of the payee, the upper limit of the number, and the upperlimit of the employee (step 115). If any of the upper limits isexceeded, then the kind of the exceeded upper limit, i.e., the upperlimit of the payee, the upper limit of the number, or the upper limit ofthe employee is saved in the DB together with the credit card number andthe term of validity, an error is displayed in the settlement site, andthe processing returns to the step 112 (step 116). On the other hand, ifany upper limit is not exceeded, then an ascertainment view of the fullname, the telephone number, the payment due, the credit card number andthe term of validity is displayed (step 117). FIG. 5(A) shows anascertainment view displayed on the subscriber terminal device at thestep 117. If an error is found at the step 116, then an error displayview shown in FIG. 5(B) is displayed on the settlement site side.

If the ascertainment view is displayed at the step 117 and a returnbutton (displayed as “pay” button) in the view is clicked as a paymentoperation, then transmission to the settlement site is conducted, anditems of the above-described credit card owner name, telephone number,payment due, credit card number, and the term of validity, and theinternal management number acquired at the step 111 are delivered (step118).

It is desirable that communication at this time is conducted in the SSL(Secure Sockets Layer).

If settlement information containing these necessary items is deliveredto the settlement site (step 119), then authentication is conducted fromthe settlement site to a card corporation (step 120). If theauthentication has succeeded, the processing returns from the settlementsite (step 121). If at this time the card number is imaginary, the cardis rejected. In this case, an error view shown in FIG. 6 is displayed.

The settlement processing of the steps 116 to 121 is conducted bytemporarily delivering the processing to the settlement site. Forexample, however, the settlement processing itself may also be conductedin the present system instead of separating the present system from thesettlement site.

The subscriber terminal, which has delivered the settlement informationat the step 118, inquires of the settlement site whether the settlementmay be conducted after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds)(step 122), and determines whether “OK” is returned (step 123). If “OK”is not returned, then it is determined whether the failure has occurredfor the first time (step 124), If the failure has occurred for the firsttime, then the user is requested to wait for a predetermined time (forexample, approximately 30 seconds) and execute the payment operationonce more (step 125). If it is found at the step 124 that the failurehas not occurred for the first time, then authentication cannot beconducted, and consequently an error display to the effect that theprocessing is discontinued is conducted, and contents of the error arerecorded in the DB, and the processing is finished (step 126). It isalso possible to prevent the same credit card number from being acceptedthereafter, by recording the error contents in the DB.

If “OK” is returned at the step 123, then settlement fixing processingis conducted between the present system and the settlement site (step127). It is monitored whether “OK” is returned (step 128). If “OK” isnot returned, then the process of the step 124 and subsequent steps isexecuted. If “OK” is returned, then the present system inquires of DBwhether settlement is already completed (step 129). This is acountermeasure against a back operation (operation of “back” button) ofthe browser conducted in the subscriber terminal device. If thesettlement is not completed (a completion flag is not set) (step 130),then a flag indicating the settlement completion is set in the DB and amark of settlement completion is put (step 131). This flag serves as anindex when totalizing the amounts of money of the successful settlementsevery card number.

Subsequently, the store name and E-mail address are acquired (step 132).E-mail to the effect that the settlement has been completed is deliveredto the E-mail address, i.e., to the payee (step 133). And a paymentcompletion view representing the store name and the payment due isdisplayed on the terminal screen and the processing is finished (step134). If it is ascertained at the step 130 that the settlement hasalready been completed (the completion flag has been set), then theprocessing jumps to the step 134 to display the payment completion viewrepresenting the store name and the payment due and the processing isfinished.

FIG. 7 shows the view displayed at the step 134. FIG. 8 shows contentsof the E-mail transmitted to the payee at the step 133.

(Second Embodiment)

As another embodiment, a settlement method using a credit card and anadapter will now be described. First, the adapter is inserted into anexpansion terminal in a subscriber terminal device, such as a portabletelephone, in a mobile communication system. Thereupon, a microcomputerincorporated in the adapter is started. A call is automaticallyoriginated from the subscriber terminal device via the Internet, and themicrocomputer is connected to a URL specified beforehand (step 201).Subsequently, an SSID (Service Set Identification) unique to the adapteris acquired by discomposing the URL (step 202). Inquiries are made inorder to acquire a payee ID provided for a payee who is an owner of theadapter, and an adapter ID provided for the adapter itself from adatabase (DB) of the URL currently connected (step 203). In the casewhere the payee has a plurality of stores, it is desirable to registerthe payee ID as a store ID by every store. In the present example, astore ID and an adapter ID assigned to each adapter while taking thestore as the unit are set.

Subsequently, it is determined whether there is registration of the SSIDin the DB (step 204). If there is no registration, then the processingis finished at that point in time (step 205). If there is registrationin the DB, then a store name and an image unique to a payee are preparedin accordance with the store ID acquired from the DB (step 206).Subsequently, explanation of processing contents to be conductedthereafter is displayed together with a logo as a top page. And anentering form view of a payment due and contact information of a payer(credit card owner), such as a telephone number and a credit card ownername (full name) in the present example, is displayed (step 207). Anexample of a view displayed on the subscriber terminal device withadapter at the step 207 is shown in FIG. 3.

In accordance with the displayed view, the payee side first enters apayment due, hands the subscribed terminal device with adapter to thepayer, and makes the payer enter the telephone number of communicationdestination and the credit card owner name by himself or herself. If areturn button (displayed as “Next” in FIGS. 3 and 4) in the view isclicked, then it is determined whether there is illegality, such aswhether characters have been entered by using half size alphanumericcharacters, whether a character that cannot be used has been used, orwhether a telephone number is unnatural (step 208). If as a result thereis illegality in the entered contents, then an error is displayed (step209), and the processing returns to the step 207 to retry. The errordisplay at this time is for example, “There is illegality in enteringyour name. Please enter your name again.” “The telephone number is notright. Please enter your telephone number again.” “The payment due isnot right. Please enter the payment due again.”

On the other hand, if there are no mistakes in the entered contents,then a unique character string is generated as a shopping ID by taking aserver in the settlement site as the unit (i.e., encryption isconducted), and the entered contents are recorded in the DB togetherwith the store ID and the employee ID (step 210). Subsequently, a URLprovided with a program code, a shopping ID, a payment due, an articlename, an additional item, and a flag of only authentication isgenerated, and a query is sent to the server of the settlement site toacquire an internal management number (step 211). The “program code” isan agent ID assigned to an agent of pertinent settlement software by thesettlement site. The “article name” is an arbitrary character string(such as the agent name) defined in communication specifications for thesettlement site. The “additional item” is a character string forinternal processing delivered in order to facilitate finding a problemwhen the problem has occurred.

Upon acquisition of the internal management number, an entering formview of a credit card number and a term of validity is together with thepayment due entered earlier (step 212). FIG. 4 shows the entering formdisplayed at the step 212. In this example, the full name of the payerand the payment due are displayed in an upper part. An entering columnof a credit card number and an entering column of a term of validity aredisplayed under the upper part. In the case of the present example, theterm of validity is entered by a selection form.

If the entering operation is completed and a return button (a buttonhaving indication “next”) is clicked, then an upper use limit in thestore=an upper limit of the payee, an upper limit of each adapter=anupper limit of the adapter, and an upper use limit of the card number=anupper limit of the number are acquired from the DB (step 213). In thecase of the present example, the sum total of use per month isdetermined as an upper limit for the upper limit of the payee and theupper limit of the number, whereas the total sum of use per day isdetermined as an upper limit for the upper limit of the adapter. If atthis time an upper limit exception that has not been timed out is set inthe DB, then it is given priority. For example, if there is a specialincrease in the upper limit of the payee or the upper limit of theadapter because of campaign (upper limit exception), then the upperlimit exception is given priority during the campaign period (unlesstimeout has occurred).

Respective upper limits are thus acquired. As for the upper limit of thepayee for the store and the upper limit of the number for the creditcard number, amounts of money of settlements that have succeeded (thathave been set in a settlement completion flag) since the first day ofthe month until that day are inquired of the DB and totalized. As forthe upper limit of the adapter for an adapter belonging to the store,amounts of money of settlements that have succeeded until the currentpoint in time of that day are inquired of the DB and totalized. Thepayment due is added to respective total amounts of settlements tocalculate respective total amounts (step 214).

Subsequently, comparison is executed for each of upper limits todetermine whether the respective calculated total amounts exceed theupper limit of the payee, the upper limit of the number, and the upperlimit of the adapter (step 215). If any of the upper limits is exceeded,then the kind of the exceeded upper limit, i.e., the upper limit of thepayee, the upper limit of the number, or the upper limit of the adapteris saved in the DB together with the credit card number and the term ofvalidity, an error is displayed in the settlement site, and theprocessing returns to the step 212 (step 216). On the other hand, if anyupper limit is not exceeded, then an ascertainment view of the fullname, the telephone number, the payment due, the credit card number andthe term of validity is displayed (step 217). FIG. 5(A) shows anascertainment view displayed on the subscriber terminal device withadapter at the step 217. If an error is found at the step 216, then anerror display view shown in FIG. 5(B) is displayed on the settlementsite side.

If the ascertainment view is displayed at the step 217 and a returnbutton (displayed as “pay” button) in the view is clicked as a paymentoperation, then transmission to the settlement site is conducted, anditems of the above-described credit card owner name, telephone number,payment due, credit card number, and the term of validity, and theinternal management number acquired at the step 211 are delivered (step218). It is desirable that communication at this time is conducted inthe SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).

If settlement information containing these necessary items is deliveredto the settlement site (step 219), then authentication is conducted fromthe settlement site to a card corporation (step 220). If theauthentication has succeeded, the processing returns from the settlementsite (step 221). If at this time the card number is imaginary, the cardis rejected. In this case, an error view shown in FIG. 6 is displayed atthe settlement site.

The subscriber terminal device with adapter, which has delivered thesettlement information at the step 218, inquires of the settlement sitewhether the settlement may be conducted after a predetermined time (forexample, 30 seconds) (step 222), and determines whether “OK” is returned(step 223). If “OK” is not returned, then it is determined whether thefailure has occurred for the first time (step 224). If the failure hasoccurred for the first time, then the user is requested to wait for apredetermined time (for example, approximately 30 seconds) and executethe payment operation once more (step 225). If it is found at the step224 that the failure has not occurred for the first time, thenauthentication cannot be conducted, and consequently an error display tothe effect that the processing is discontinued is conducted, andcontents of the error are recorded in the DB, and the processing isfinished (step 226) It is also possible to prevent the same credit cardnumber from being accepted thereafter, by recording the error contentsin the DB.

If “OK” is returned at the step 223, then settlement fixing processingis conducted between the present system and the settlement site (step227). It is monitored whether “OK” is returned (step 228). If “OK” isnot returned, then the process of the step 224 and subsequent steps isexecuted. If “OK” is returned, then the present system inquires of DBwhether settlement is already completed (step 229). This is acountermeasure against a back operation (operation of “back” button) ofthe browser conducted in the subscriber terminal device having anadapter. If the settlement is not completed (a completion flag is notset) (step 230), then a flag indicating the settlement completion is setin the DB and a mark of settlement completion is put (step 231). Thisflag serves as an index when totalizing the amounts of money of thesuccessful settlements every card number.

Subsequently, the store name and E-mail address set so as to be uniqueto the adapter are acquired (step 232). E-mail to the effect that thesettlement has been completed is delivered to the E-mail address, i.e.,to the payee (step 233). And a payment completion view representing thestore name and the payment due is displayed on the terminal screen andthe processing is finished (step 234). If it is ascertained at the step230 that the settlement has already been completed (the completion flaghas been set), then the processing jumps to the step 234 to display thepayment completion view representing the store name and the payment dueand the processing is finished.

FIG. 7 shows the view displayed at the step 234. FIG. 8 shows contentsof the E-mail transmitted to the payee at the step 233.

In the settlement method as above described, it is also possible topreviously collect security money from the payee in order to prevent afraud. As for remittance from the settlement site administrativecorporation to the payee, it is desirable to make a contract so as toconduct the remittance after actual receipt of money from the payer,i.e., the credit card owner. Furthermore, by using the adapter, thelabor for entering the user ID and password on the subscriber terminaldevice can be saved. In addition, if the adapter is provided with afunction of a card reader, it is also possible to add information readfrom the credit card besides the information of the credit card ownerobtained by using the subscriber terminal device.

In the foregoing description of both the first and second embodiments, acredit card is used. Settlement using a debit card or one of variouskinds of electronic money, which is a different settlement means, willnow be described. For example, if prepaid electronic money is used aselectronic money, then the payer enters a settlement number stated onthe prepaid card owned by the payer, in the processing process forentering a credit card number included in the processing in the first orsecond embodiment. At this time, the full name and telephone number ofthe payer are entered in the same way as the first and secondembodiments. Typically, in the case where such a prepaid card is used,it is seldom that the payer's own information is disclosed. Therefore,it is also possible to omit the payer's own information and enter only anumber dedicated to settlement. After entering, processing processessimilar to those conducted when using a credit card in the first orsecond embodiment are executed. Settlement processing of the payee andsettlement processing of the prepaid card are conducted (notillustrated), and the payment is completed.

Also when using a debit card, a number of a cash card of a financialagency owned by the payer is entered in the scene in which the creditcard number is entered in the first or second embodiment, in the sameway as the case where the prepaid card is used. When using a creditcard, however, the name and telephone number are entered as informationof the payer. However, it is also possible to enter a secretidentification number in accordance with the use form of the typicaldebit card. After the entering, settlement processing of the payee andsettlement processing of the debit card are conducted (not illustrated)in the same way as the first or second embodiment, and the payment iscompleted.

In order to meet the convenience of the payer, the payer may be made toselect a credit card, a debit card, or one of various kinds ofelectronic money as a payment method in, for example, the view displayedat the step 107 in FIG. 1 or at the step 207 in FIG. 9 (the view shownin FIG. 4).

According to the settlement method of the present invention, it becomespossible to conduct settlement using a credit card, a debit card, or oneof various kinds of electronic money by using only a subscriber terminaldevice of mobile communication, such as a portable telephone, as abovedescribed. Therefore, the opportunity of using cards can be greatlywidened.

1. A settlement method by various payment means using a subscriberterminal device of a mobile communication system that can be connectedto the Internet, said settlement method comprising: a process fororiginating a call from the subscriber terminal device, conductingcommunication with a database, and authenticating a payee; a process fordisplaying views on a screen of the subscriber terminal device inaccordance with contents registered in the database, accepting at leasta payment due and a payer name entered on the subscriber terminaldevice, and ascertaining whether there is illegality in the enteredcontents; a process responsive to no illegality in the entered contentsfor accepting a settlement number and a term of validity of the variouspayment means entered on the subscriber terminal device, acquiring anupper limit of use from the database on the basis of the enteredcontents, and determining whether the payment due is within the upperlimit of use; a process for displaying at least the payer name, thepayment due, the settlement number and the term of validity of variouspayment means on the subscriber terminal device if the payment due iswithin the upper limit of use, and transmitting settlement informationfrom the subscriber terminal device to a settlement site in accordancewith a payment operation corresponding to the display; a process forconducting communication from the settlement site, which has receivedthe settlement information, to an administrative corporation of thevarious payment means, and requesting authentication; and a processresponsive to success of the authentication, for executing settlementfixing processing between the settlement site and the subscriberterminal device and displaying settlement completion on the subscriberterminal device.
 2. The settlement method according to claim 1, whereinauthentication of the payee is conducted by using a user ID and apassword.
 3. The settlement method according to claim 2, whereininformation unique to a store of the payee and information of anemployee belonging to the store are associated with the user ID andregistered in the database.
 4. The settlement method according to claim1, wherein the various payment means are credit cards, debit cards, andvarious kinds of electronic money.
 5. The settlement method according toclaim 1, where in a settlement number of the various payment means is acredit card number, a debit card number, or an electronic money number.6. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein when entering apayment due and a payer name on the subscriber terminal device, contactinformation of a payer is also entered.
 7. The settlement methodaccording to claim 1, wherein in said process for determining whetherthe payment due is within the upper limit of use, an upper limit ofpayee provided for the payee, an upper limit of settlement provided forthe various payment means, and an upper limit of employee provided foran employee are acquired from the database, and it is determined whetherthe payment due does not exceed the acquired upper limits.
 8. Thesettlement method according to claim 7, wherein amounts of money ofsettlement that have succeeded in totalizing periods determinedrespectively for the upper limits are inquired of the database andtotalized respectively for the upper limits, and it is determinedwhether sum totals of these totalized amounts of money of settlementsand the payment due do not exceed the corresponding upper limits.
 9. Asettlement method by various payment means using an adapter connected toan expansion terminal in a subscriber terminal device of a mobilecommunication system that can be connected to the Internet, saidsettlement method comprising: a process for originating a call from thesubscriber terminal device by connecting the adapter, conductingcommunication with a database, displaying views on a screen of thesubscriber terminal device with adapter in accordance with contentsunique to the adapter registered in the database, accepting at least apayment due and a payer name entered on the subscriber terminal devicewith adapter, and ascertaining whether there is illegality in theentered contents; a process responsive to no illegality in the enteredcontents for accepting a settlement number and a term of validity of thevarious payment means entered on the subscriber terminal device withadapter, acquiring an upper limit of use from the database on the basisof the entered contents, and determining whether the payment due iswithin the upper limit of use; a process for displaying at least thepayer name, the payment due, the settlement number and the term ofvalidity of the various payment means on the subscriber terminal deviceif the payment due is within the upper limit of use, and transmittingsettlement information from the subscriber terminal device with adapterto a settlement site in accordance with a payment operationcorresponding to the display; a process for conducting communicationfrom the settlement site, which has received the settlement information,to an administrative corporation of the various payment means, andrequesting authentication; and a process responsive to success of theauthentication, for executing settlement fixing processing between thesettlement site and the subscriber terminal device with adapter anddisplaying settlement completion on the subscriber terminal device withadapter.
 10. The settlement method according to claim 9, wherein thevarious payment means are credit cards, debit cards, and various kindsof electronic money.
 11. The settlement method according to claim 9,wherein a settlement number of the various payment means is a creditcard number, a debit card number, or an electronic money number.
 12. Thesettlement method according to claim 9, wherein when entering a paymentdue and a payer name on the subscriber terminal device with adapter,contact information of a payer is also entered.
 13. The settlementmethod according to claim 12, wherein the contact information is atelephone number.
 14. The settlement method according to claim 13,wherein in determining illegal entering, the database is inquired of todetermine whether the telephone number is an actually existing telephonenumber.
 15. The settlement method according to claim 9, wherein in saidprocess for determining whether the payment due is within the upperlimit of use, an upper limit of payee provided for the payee, an upperlimit of number provided for the settlement number of the variouspayment means, and an upper limit of adapter provided for an adapter areacquired from the database, and it is determined whether the payment duedoes not exceed the acquired upper limits.
 16. The settlement methodaccording to claim 15, wherein amounts of money of settlement that havesucceeded in totalizing periods determined respectively for the upperlimits are inquired of the database and totalized respectively for theupper limits, and it is determined whether sum totals of these totalizedamounts of money of settlements and the payment due do not exceed thecorresponding upper limits.